Lingping Gao

Chairman and Founder NetBrain Technologies Inc.

Last Reviewed: September 26, 2026

Executive Summary

Lingping Gao founded NetBrain Technologies in 2004 and is now its Chairman. He ran the Burlington, Massachusetts company as CEO for more than two decades, building it into a network automation software company serving large enterprises and managed service providers. In July 2025 NetBrain announced a majority growth investment from Blackstone Growth at a $750 million valuation. When the deal closed in January 2026, Gao handed the CEO role to Bernadette Nixon and became Chair of the Board. The company idea came from his earlier job as Chief Network Architect at Thomson Financial, where he saw first-hand how hard it is to manage large enterprise networks.

Career Highlights

• Founded NetBrain in 2004 and led it as CEO for more than two decades.
• Chairman and Founder of NetBrain since January 2026, when he moved from CEO to Chair of the Board.
• Agreed a majority growth investment from Blackstone Growth, announced on 22 July 2025 at a $750 million valuation and closed on 20 January 2026.
• Signed NetBrain’s 2014 SEC Form D as President; the filing reports $30 million sold in a $40 million equity offering.
• Chief Network Architect at Thomson Financial before founding NetBrain.
• Engineering degrees from Tsinghua University and Yale University.

Professional Journey

Gao studied automotive engineering at Tsinghua University, where he earned a BS and a BA, and then took an MS in Engineering at Yale University. His early career covered management, engineering and international business across the networking, software and automotive industries.

He became Chief Network Architect at Thomson Financial. In that job he saw how difficult it was to manage large enterprise networks and keep them performing, and that experience led him to found NetBrain in 2004 to simplify network management. NetBrain describes itself as the market leader in network automation, with customers among the world’s largest enterprises and managed service providers. By July 2025 the company said it powered networks for more than one-third of the Fortune 500.

As founder, President and CEO, Gao led the company through its growth. Its 2014 Form D, which he signed as President and which lists him as President, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary, records a $40 million equity offering, of which $30 million had been sold.

On 22 July 2025 NetBrain announced a significant growth investment from Blackstone Growth at a $750 million valuation, which gave Blackstone a majority stake. Gao said then that he was “thrilled to partner with Blackstone Growth to accelerate our next phase of expansion”. When the investment closed on 20 January 2026, NetBrain announced that he would move from CEO to Chair of the Board after two decades in charge, and that Bernadette Nixon would become CEO. “Building NetBrain from concept to category leader has been the journey of a lifetime,” he said in the announcement. NetBrain’s leadership page now lists him on the Board of Directors as Chairman and Founder.

Education

Tsinghua University

BS and BA, Automotive Engineering

Yale University

MS, Engineering